Prelude of the Requiem

𝘍𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 8𝘵𝘩 𝘚𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘝𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘮𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘯'𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴.

𝘔𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘮 𝘡𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘈𝘪 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘹𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 8𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘰𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘌𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵.

"𝘔𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘮 𝘡𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘈𝘪 𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘞𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘰𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘌𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 8𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘥," 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘖𝘭𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘯 𝘉𝘢𝘪 𝘍𝘢. 𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝘞𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘌𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴," 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺.

𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘋𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥, "𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳, 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘰𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘌𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦."

𝘈𝘭𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘓𝘪 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘥, "𝘗𝘭𝘶𝘴, 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘐𝘧 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯."

𝘈𝘭𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘡𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦, "𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵? 𝘞𝘦'𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦. 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦. 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘓𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘥𝘢. 𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵."

𝘖𝘯𝘦-𝘌𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘓𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘈𝘭𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘡𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨'𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨. "𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 8𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘞𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦. 𝘖𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 8𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦," 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵.

𝘔𝘢𝘰 𝘞𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘯 𝘨𝘢𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘓𝘪𝘶 𝘗𝘦𝘯𝘨, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘺. "𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺?" 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥.

𝘓𝘪𝘶 𝘗𝘦𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩, 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺. "𝘐𝘵'𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴," 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴.

𝘔𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘮 𝘡𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘈𝘪 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺, 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘔𝘢𝘰 𝘞𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘓𝘪𝘶 𝘗𝘦𝘯𝘨. "𝘖𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥, 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘊𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦," 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘮𝘭𝘺. "𝘞𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘰𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘌𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺."

…...

Fast forward to the present time. Juanxiu was inside the Xuanwu realm. He had been on guard duty for hours on end, and his body was starting to feel the strain. Eventually, he decided to take a short nap, something most cultivators didn't need but still found refreshing.

While he was sleeping, Juanxiu's fellow student took over guarding their sleeping companion, Yan Shenqing. The rest allowed them to catch up on their much-needed rest.

As the first rays of dawn light pierced through the trees, Juanxiu stirred from his short nap. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and stretched his limbs, feeling slightly refreshed. He turned to see his fellow student from Hongpuhui university, Yan Shenqing, still resting on the ground beside him, his breathing steady and even. Juanxiu signaled to his colleague to take over the watch and ensure that Yan Shenqing was kept safe.

As he was about to doze off again, Juanxiu heard footsteps approaching. He opened his eyes to see Yan Shenqing slowly rising to his feet, his eyes scanning the area. When he caught sight of Juanxiu, he approached him with gratitude written all over his face. "Thank you for saving my life Brother," he said in a solemn tone.

Juanxiu nodded in acknowledgment, "I did not do it alone. If not for everyone working together, you would be nothing more than a cold corpse right now. Plus, I should be the one thanking you for using your body as a defense." He paused for a moment, reflecting on how Yan Shenqing had taken the brunt of the attack that had rendered him unconscious.

Yan Shenqing bowed toward his fellow student from Hongpuhui university, "thank you my friends," he said with deep sincerity.

Zhang Heng stepped forward, "Don't think too much about it. We are just glad that you are awake now. We have a lot of things to do."

The group nodded in agreement as Juanxiu continued, "We have to move to the northern part of the realm. When I left there, I saw a massive fluctuation of energy at the north." Actually, Juanxiu was only making an excuse. It was in fact the Chaos Striker who told him before that he had to go to the north. The others nodded, knowing that they had to investigate the disturbance and assess the situation.

Juanxiu then tossed a small pill to Yan Shenqing, "Take this, it will help you regain your strength faster." Yan Shenqing gratefully accepted the pill and swallowed it without hesitation. With the group refreshed and ready to move, they set off towards the northern part of the Xuanwu realm, eager to face whatever dangers awaited them.

…...

The Blank Continent was a desolate and forsaken land, where the wind blew harshly and the sun seemed to hide behind the gray clouds forever. In the midst of this bleakness, Rymton, the God of Deceit, stood surrounded by the head of the Karma Order. He regarded them with disdain, his eyes cold and unfeeling.

Sitting atop a throne-like chair was Xia Renshu, the leader of the Karma Order and the brother of the current emperor of the Shaoying Empire. He looked at Rymton with amusement, as if he found the God's presence to be a trivial matter.

Rymton spoke with a sneer, "I am gracing you with my presence, since you said something that piqued my interest. If you can't give me solid evidence, then I will wipe this Blank Continent."

Xia Renshu laughed heartily, "Can you? This continent holds secrets that even a major God would find tricky, let alone a minor God like you."

Rymton's anger flared up, and his energy surged violently, shaking the fortress and startling everyone in the fortress. They looked towards the massive and ominous tower where the Karma Order and Rymton are, wondering what was happening inside.

Xia Renshu remained unfazed and continued to speak calmly, "But I can help you find the remnant of your beloved Kadla, the Goddess of Peace."

Rymton's expression changed as he listened to Xia Renshu's words. His beloved Kadla, who had been lost for centuries, was a sore spot for him. The thought of finding her was tempting, but he couldn't let his guard down.

"How?" Rymton demanded.

"We have our ways," Xia Renshu replied cryptically. "But we won't tell you."

Rymton seethed, his mind racing. He never thought he would negotiate with mortals, let alone make a deal with them. But he had to find Kadla, no matter the cost.

"What do I have to do in exchange?" he asked, begrudgingly.

Xia Renshu smiled. "Join us in the upcoming battle against the Shaoying Empire. We will sever the connection between the Grand Echo continent and the Shaoying empire. We will dethrone the Queen Regnant and the coward Emperor and I will become the new king."

Rymton considered his options. "And after that?" he asked warily.

"After that, I will help you find Kadla's fragment," Xia Renshu promised.

Rymton knew it was a risky move, but he had no other choice. He had to trust these mortals, at least for now.

The God of Deceit and the Goddess of Peace – what an unlikely pair they made. Yet, history had shown that their love was true. Now, as Rymton stood before the Karma Order, surrounded by their leaders, he couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration for their audacity. Xia Renshu was thankful for the piece of scriptures they found that shed the romantic relationship between these two.

Rymton knew that this is a risky move and that these mortals have an ulterior motive. But the prospect of finally finding Kadla was too much to resist. He had searched for her endlessly, using every trick and deception in his arsenal, but to no avail. If the Karma Order truly had the means to locate her, then it was worth considering their proposal.

Rymton's voice was low and measured as he spoke. "You have my agreement. But make no mistake, if you betray me, the consequences will be dire."

Xia Renshu nodded, his face a mask of determination. "We understand each other, Rymton. The fate of this world and your love rests on our alliance."

With that, the two beings shook hands, sealing their pact. The air around them seemed to grow thicker, heavy with the weight of their decision.

After that Rymton turned his back, disappearing from the Blank Continent, Xia Renshu turned to his fellow Karma Order members, a glint of triumph in his eye. They had taken a risk on Kadla's fragment, but it had paid off. Now they had a powerful ally in their war against the Shaoying Empire.

But as they prepared for battle, little did they know that Rymton had his own plans in motion. He would use this alliance to further his own goals, and once he found Kadla, nothing would stop him from taking her back by any means necessary. With Kadla sitting on the throne of the Queen, he will become the ruler of this part of the universe.

…...

The skies above the Shaoying Empire were darkened by the imposing presence of the Cloud Chaser. The massive skyship was a sight to behold, its size dwarfing even the Cloud Chaser of the Shaoying Empire. The flag of the Grand Echo continent fluttered proudly in the wind, a clear indication of their intent.

Below, the people of the Shaoying Empire watched in awe and fear as the Cloud Chaser hovered menacingly over the castle. The emperor himself was present, his eyes fixed on the sky as he tried to comprehend the sheer scale of the ship before him. He knew that this visit was not a mere diplomatic mission but rather a prelude to a joint attack on the Blank Continent.

The Queen Regnant is in front of the welcome party, having no shame of showing everyone that she is in control and the emperor is just a puppet.

The emperor's advisors whispered frantically to each other, trying to devise a plan to counter this threat. But they all knew that the real Shaoying Empire was outmatched, and any attempt to resist the might of the Grand Echo continent would only lead to their destruction.

The emperor took a deep breath, steeling himself for what was to come. He knew that he had no choice but to accept the partnership offered by the Grand Echo continent. This was their enemy's first step towards their ultimate goal of conquering the Shaoying Empire, but for now, they needed each other's strength to defeat their common enemy.

As the Cloud Chaser slowly descended onto the castle grounds, the emperor put on a brave face and prepared to meet his visitors. He hoped that this alliance would bring peace and prosperity to his people, but deep down, he knew that the future was uncertain and fraught with danger.

He knew that the Grand Echo continent had been preparing for this moment for a long time, and now it was upon them. The Shaoying Empire was in a vulnerable position, and their enemy had the advantage.

With a deep breath, the emperor walked toward the Cloud Chaser. His advisors were trailing behind. The rest were silent as the emperor whispered the words they were all dreading.

"We must prepare for war."